Vancouver BC

Back to Vancouver, back to reality. We had booked a tour of Vancouver since our flight back home wasn't until 5:oopm. We had the best tour guide, Billy Ray. He was very informative and knew the city so well. It was also an eating tour, whether that was the normal tour or just Billy Ray's tour. As we toured down town he explained that there is very little air pollution in the city due to all the roof top gardens. We are not talking just flowers on the roof tops..full grown trees also. It's probably one of the greenest cities both ecologically and figuratively. They also have many public gardens. When a building is torn down the site has to be a public garden for 2 years, so all over the city there are public gardens where you can stake out a plot of space and grow vegetables or flowers or whatever. Billy Ray said that there is no crime to speak of in these gardens as everyone respects each other's space. We made a quick 5 min. stop to see the steam clock, which was interesting and beautiful.

We went to China Town, one of the largest on the West Coast, 2nd only to New York. He parked the bus and gave us about 15 min. to get off and stretch our legs and visit a few of the markets. One bakery in particular was known for their apple tarts so we all headed over there. Yes, they were excellent as were their various dim sum treats. We took our food and ate it in the bus as the tour continued. We took a tour of Stanley Park, a beautiful park. It was larger than Central Park in NY. It was a little of everything.. forests, ocean, flowers, restaurants.. we made another stop at a spot with what was said to be the best ice cream. Tianna got a cone and I took a bite, and it was really good..creamy and rich. There were totem poles and of course a place to buy souvenirs. After that a little more sight seeing and then to Grandville Island where we had an hour to eat or shop. It is situated on the bay and is a beautiful spot full of shops and restaurants and a great public market. I wish we had more time, I would have liked to have spent more time looking around the huge market. There were all kinds of vendors from meat to fruit to pastries to cheese and everything in between imaginable. We were told that we had to try the halibut fish and chips stand so I think the whole bus was standing in line there. It was good, but I would rather have spent my time at the market.

After our hour there we were back on the bus and headed back to the airport. I am definitely going to try to plan a trip to Vancouver in the near future. I have been there before but now I know where things are and what there is to do in the city. It is one of the best "foodie" places also..great restaurants. It is also a gorgeous city.. I can't wait to get back there again.